In the present state of the art, OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturers) of automobile vehicles need to seal openings, such as holes and seams in the vehicles against entry into the opening of a variety of environmental elements, such as water, dirt, and the like, in order to help avoid corrosion and noise. For most applications putty, a pumpable material, plugs, Butyl or other types of sealing patches are used. However, most of these materials must be applied after e-coat in order to allow the inner cavities to be coated before sealing the cavities off as desired.
Some of the materials used for this purpose will shrink when the e.g. automobile body is passed through a paint drying oven as part of the final finish of the automobile body, and such shrinkage can create a leak into the previously-sealed opening.
Furthermore, some of the openings that need to be sealed are in areas that are not accessible after the vehicle has been welded together.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the foregoing difficulties, by providing a sealant tape that can be applied to such openings either before or after e-coating, which will allow e-coating of the cavities inside the openings even after the sealant tape has been applied over the openings, and subsequently provide an effective seal for such openings.